In court Microsoft fiercely fights being forced to offer modular versions of Windows that would let computer makers offer functions from other vendors. In the real world that stance seems absurd when Microsoft refuses to sell you an integrated version of Windows XP with all known defects corrected. Whether you buy a brand-new computer or a disk in a Microsoft box, the version of Windows XP you get today is the same defect-plagued one that arrived last August. Missing: 12 separate fixes Microsoft calls "critical" (mostly because of security gaffes) and, depending on the machine, a dozen or so more of varying urgency.
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